42 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1908. 
bats and other small mammals were supplied to Mr. Oldfield Thomas 
and Mr. Knud Andersen, of the same museum. Dr. Glover M. Allen 
examined specimens of South American bats, and Dr. Tf. D. Reed 
borrowed a number of specimens for use in the preparation of a 
list of species occurring in the vicinity of Ithaca, New York. Mr. W. 
K. Gregory, of Columbia University, New York, spent several days 
at the Museum studying the skulls and teeth of insectivores from an 
evolutionary standpoint; Mr. E, E. Heller, of the University of Cali- 
fornia, examined types of mammals of northwestern America; and 
Mr. J. T. Nichols, of the American Museum of Natural History, 
devoted some time to making comparisons of porpoise skulls. As in 
previous years, the naturalists of the Biological Survey made exten- 
sive use of the collections. 
Birds.—Doctor Abbott and Doctor Mearns, as previously explained, 
were among the principal contributors of bird skins. Mr. Robert 
Ridgway, curator of the division, was in Costa Rica from January 
to May, 1908, on the invitation of Mr. José C. Zeledon, a zealous 
friend of the Museum, who most generously paid the expenses of the 
field work, besides personally supervising its details and employing 
a professional taxidermist. The principal object of Mr. Ridgway’s 
trip was to collect information and specimens for use in the prepara- 
tion of his manual on the Birds of North and Middle America, now 
in course of publication by the Museum. He brought back with him 
about 1,600 specimens. 
Costa Riean birds to the number of 154, including topotypes of 
recently described species, were also obtained from Mr. Outram Bangs, 
of Boston, partly by gift and partly by exchange. The late Mrs. 
P. L. Jouy presented about 500 birds, chiefly North American, which 
had been collected by her husband; Corpl. Robert A. Schroder, U. S. 
Army, contributed 45 specimens, including the type of a new sub- 
species of fantail flycatcher, from Mount Malindang, Mindanao 
Island; Maj. John R. White, a number of specimens from Palawan; 
and Mr. Owen Bryant, of Cohasset, Mass., a collection of 48 New- 
foundland birds, containing two skins of a recently described wood- 
pecker. Twenty-five specimens from southeastern Europe, Morocco, 
ete., were donated by Mr. J. H. Riley, of the Museum: and 9 speci- 
mens from the Chatham Islands, New Zealand, were obtained in 
exchange from Mr. J. H. Fleming, of Toronto, Canada. Among the 
latter were examples of several species which have become rare. Mr. 
EK. J. Court, of Washington, presented the type specimen of the 
heron, Ardea herodias treganze. 
The important task of relabeling the study collection of bird skins 
progressed satisfactorily, covering the contents of 71 quarter-unit 
and 19 half-unit cases. This work is now complete for about three- 
sevenths of the collection. New written labels were supplied for the 
